AlterNet.org: Jonathan Wattshttp://www.alternet.org/authors/jonathan-watts
enHugo Chávez Dies of Cancerhttp://www.alternet.org/hugo-chavez-dies-cancer
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<div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Death comes 18 months after news of pelvic tumor.</div></div></div>
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<!--smart_paging_autop_filter--><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hugo Chavéz, the president of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/venezuela" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Venezuela">Venezuela</a>, has died in a military hospital after a long battle against cancer, Reuters has reported, prompting a wave of mourning in the country he ruled since 1999 with a globally distinctive and influential style of leadership.</p><p>The symbol of Latin American socialism succumbed to a respiratory infection on Tuesday evening, 21 months after he first revealed he had a tumour. He had not been seen in public for three months since undergoing emergency surgery in Cuba on 11 December.</p><p>He will be given a state funeral in Caracas, likely to be attended by millions of supporters and leftwing leaders from across the globe who have been inspired by Chavéz's doctrine of "Bolivarian 21st-century socialism", grateful for the subsidised energy he provided or simply impressed by his charisma.</p><p>His death will also trigger a presidential election, which must be held within 30 days, to decide who controls the world's greatest untapped reserves of oil. Chavéz's designated successor is vice-president Nicolás Maduro, who is likely to face Henrique Capriles, the losing <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/03/henrique-capriles-topple-hugo-chavez" title="">opposition candidate in the most recent presidential election</a>. Until then, according to the constitution, the interim president should be the head of the national assembly, Diosdado Cabello.</p><p>Replacing one of most colourful figures on the global political landscape will be an immense challenge. Born to a poor family on the plains, Chavéz became a tank commander and a devotee of South America's liberator, Simón Bolívar. A failed coup in 1992 propelled him into the limelight but it was his ballot box triumphs that made him a inspiration for the resurgent Latin American left and the most outspoken – and often humorous – critic of the US, the war in Iraq and former president George W Bush, whom he described as a "donkey" and a "devil".</p><p>Formerly one of the most dynamic political leaders in the world with a globe-trotting schedule and a weekly, unscripted TV broadcast that usually went on for hours, Chavéz shocked his countrymen in June 2011 when he revealed that Cuban surgeons had removed a baseball-sized tumour from his pelvic region,</p><p>After that, he underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and two more operations in what he described as a "battle for health and for life". His medical records were never made public, prompting widespread speculation about his imminent demise, but he and his supporters insisted he was recovering. Before the presidential election in October 2012, aides claimed he was well enough to complete a full term of office.</p><p>During that campaign, Chávez was clearly affected by his illness. But although he made fewer and shorter appearances, he won more votes than in any of his earlier election battles, prompting him to proclaim victory in a "perfect battle".</p><p>Fears about his health escalated after he rushed to Cuba for hyperbaric oxygen treatment on 27 November. Less than a fortnight later, he made a televised address in which he said that doctors had discovered malignant cells that required surgery and urged Venezuelans to vote for Maduro if he was incapacitated.</p><p> </p><p>Since his operation in December, Chávez has been visited by family members and several of his closest political allies, including Fidel and Raul Castro of Cuba, Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa and Bolivian president Evo Morales.</p><p>Beyond a set of four photographs released last month that showed a remarkably hearty looking Chavez smiling in a hospital bed and flanked by his daughters, the president has not been seen or heard for three months. This prompted frequent rumours that the president was dead or on life support. The government denied this and said he continued to run the country by writing down his orders.</p><p> </p><p>But officials acknowledged that Chavez suffered multiple complications after his surgery including respiratory infections and bleeding. He had to undergo more chemotherapy and drug treatments and could only breathe through a tracheal tube.</p><p> </p><p>He returned from Cuba on 18 February at his own request, said officials. Since then he has been treated at Carlos Arvelo military hospital in Caracas.</p><p> </p><p>Hopes for a recovery dimmed on Monday, when Minister of Communications Ernesto Villegas, said the president's condition had declined due to a "new and serious respiratory infection."</p><p> </p><p>Constitutional questions have been raised by his long hospitalisation and absence from public life, which he formerly dominated with dynamic and provocative appearances on his weekly television address, "Hello Mr President." When he failed to attend his scheduled inauguration on 10 January, the opposition asked who is running the country. The ruling party responded with a rally of more than 100,000 supporters, many carrying banners declaring "We are Chavez."</p><p> </p> Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:11:00 -0800Jonathan Watts, The Guardian804704 at http://www.alternet.orghugo chávezcancerdeadChina Warns of 'Urgent Problems' Facing Three Gorges Damhttp://www.alternet.org/story/151089/china_warns_of_%27urgent_problems%27_facing_three_gorges_dam
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<div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">There is risk of geological disaster, the state cabinet admits, as the project is linked to soil erosion, quakes, drought and social upheaval.</div></div></div>
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<!--smart_paging_autop_filter--><div id="article-body-blocks"><p>The Three Gorges dam, the flagship of <a title="More from guardian.co.uk on China" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/china">China</a>'s massive hydroengineering ambitions, faces "urgent problems", the government has warned.</p>
<p>In a statement approved by prime minister Wen Jiabao, the state council said the dam had pressing geological, human and ecological problems. The report also acknowledged for the first time the negative impact the dam has had on downstream river transport and water supplies.</p>
<p>Since the start of construction in 1992 about 16m tonnes of concrete have been poured into the giant barrier across the Yangtze river, creating a reservoir that stretches almost the length of Britain and drives 26 giant turbines.</p>
<p>The world's biggest hydropower plant boasts a total generating capacity of 18,200MW and the ability to help tame the floods that threaten the Yangtze delta each summer.</p>
<p>But it has proved expensive and controversial due to the rehousing of 1.4 million people and the flooding of more than 1,000 towns and villages. Pollution, silt and landslides have plagued the reservoir area. Given the 254bn yuan (£24bn) cost and political prestige at stake, the government focused for many years on the dam's achievements and attempted to stifle domestic criticism of the project. But its public analysis has become increasingly sober.</p>
<p>A statement on the government's website read: "At the same time that the Three Gorges project provides huge comprehensive benefits, urgent problems must be resolved regarding the smooth relocation of residents, ecological protection and geological disaster prevention."</p>
<p>There were few specifics but China's cabinet, the state council, admitted several problems had not been foreseen.</p>
<p>"Problems emerged at various stages of project planning and construction but could not be solved immediately, and some arose because of increased demands brought on by economic and social development," the statement said.</p>
<p>Since the 1.5 mile barrier was completed in 2006 the reservoir has been plagued by algae and pollution that would previously have been flushed away.</p>
<p>The weight of the extra water has also been blamed for tremors, landslides and erosion of slopes.</p>
<p>To ease these threats the government said last year many more people may have to be relocated. This week it promised to establish disaster warning systems, reinforce riverbanks, boost funding for environmental protection and improve benefits for the displaced.</p>
<p>This is not the first warning. Four years ago the state media quoted government experts who said: "There are many new and old hidden ecological and environmental dangers concerning the Three Gorges dam. If preventive measures are not taken the project could lead to a catastrophe."</p>
<p>Last year, site engineers recommended an additional movement of hundreds of thousands of nearby residents and more investment in restoring the ecosystem.</p>
<p>The government has already raised its budget for water treatment plants but opponents of the dam say this is not enough. "The government built a dam but destroyed a river," said Dai Qing, a longtime critic of the project. "No matter how much effort the government makes to ease the risks, it is infinitesimal. The state council is spending more money on the project rather than investigating fully. I cannot see a real willingness to solve the problem."</p>
<p>The timing of the statement – as the government prepares to flesh out the details of its latest five-year plan – has prompted speculation of a possible push back against hydropower interests.</p>
<p>Peter Bosshard of International Rivers said: "While powerful factions within the government are pushing for the rapid expansion of hydropower projects, others are warning of the social and environmental cost of large dams and the geological risks of building such projects in seismically active regions.</p>
<p>"By highlighting the unresolved problems of the Three Gorges dam now, Premier Wen Jiabao, who has stopped destructive projects in the past, may be sending a shot across the bow of a zealous hydropower lobby which would be only too happy to forget about the lessons of the past."</p>
<p>The frank assessment of the challenges posed and benefits offered by the dam came amid growing concerns about a drought on the middle stretches of the Yangtze. This has left 1,392 reservoirs in Hubei with only "dead water" and has affected the drinking supplies of more than 300,000 people.</p>
<p>Chinese media reported this month that the Yangtze water levels near Wuhan hit their lowest point since the dam went into operation in 2003. Long stretches have apparently been closed to water traffic after hundreds of boats ran aground in the shallows.</p>
<p>There have been claims that the Three Gorges plant has exacerbated the problem by holding back water for electricity generation, but operators claim they have alleviated the problem by releasing 400m cubic metres of water from the reservoir. As a result the levels have fallen below 156 metres – the amount needed for optimum power generation.</p>
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Wed, 25 May 2011 11:00:01 -0700Jonathan Watts, The Guardian666432 at http://www.alternet.orgWaterWaterchinawaterdamsthree gorges